east asia

• Mongolia


  • Home to various ethnic tribes considered as nomads that herd sheep, horses, and other animals
  • Genghis Khan founded the Mongol empire in 1206, which was the largest empire in history
  • Kublai Khan conquered China
  • Civil war among Mongols led to the Chinese Ming Dynasty conquering them in 1919
  • Bogd Khan proclaimed Mongolia's independence in 1911, but it was not true independence
  • Mongolia was free from Chinese colonizers in 1921 and the Mongolian People's Republic was declared
• China


  • Opium Wars between 1839-1860 sparked Chinese nationalism, as China tried to limit the entry of opium
  • China failed in the Opium Wars, resulting in surrender of lands and ports to the British Empire
  • Mao Zedong led the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, ending the civil unrest between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang)
• Japan


  • Had a "closed door policy" limiting foreign interaction, with only one port open for each foreign country
  • Pre-independence government was a "shogunate" led by a "shogun"
  • Became an imperial power and started World War II by bombing Pearl Harbor
  • After WWII, the United States encouraged liberal governance practices under General Douglas MacArthur
  • The San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951 marked Japan's official entry as an independent nation
• Korea (before division)


  • Invaded, influenced, and fought over by larger neighbors like Mongols and Imperial Japan
  • Earned the nickname "Hermit Kingdom" by closing its doors to avoid further invasion
  • Korean dynasties ruled the land independently, but Japan's success in the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars led to annexation of Korea
• North Korea and South Korea

  • Created after Japan lost WWII in 1945
  • Republic of Korea (R.O.K) in the south established in August 1948
  • Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) in the north established the next month
• Taiwan


  • Invaded by the Dutch and Spaniards in the early 1700s
  • Incorporated and annexed as a province by the Qing dynasty of China in 1887
  • Given to Imperial Japan after the first Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95
  • Taken under the care of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) nationalist party after Japan's WWII defeat
  • Taiwan's status as part of China or an independent nation is a pending question
  • The US and Australia have recognised the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of "one China"
  • Taiwan celebrates its independence day every 10th of October